Even bringing him in to talk is inexcusableMartin Fennelly Published: August 25, 2014 
Richie Incognito #68 of the Miami Dolphins battles Gary Gibson #95 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a preseason game, Aug. 24, 2013.Joel Auerbach/Getty TAMPA — Wasn’t MRSA enough? The disgusting news that the Bucs are taking a real look at Richie Incognito, bullying and racial and homophobic slurs a specialty, should send shivers down spines.I mean, how desperate can a team be for an offensive guard? This desperate.This offensive.So much for the Summer of Lovie. Incognito?Inexcusable.Lovie Smith and Bucs GM Jason Licht have no business, other than business, to let this creep set foot in the building, to even for a moment think about helping this team with someone suspended for conduct detrimental to his last team, the Miami Dolphins. Richie Incognito is a detriment to human decency.Nothing like that for a young locker room.A bully in a china shop.Plus, as an added bonus, he’d get to live among us!Party guy and stabbing victim Mike Williams (“victim” was Lovie’s word) had to go.That was too much too handle.But not this.Clearly, we have officially run out of human beings who can block.Lovie can kiss all the welcome-back community goodwill goodbye if he signs this fellow.We now take you to Candyland ...“I’m coming in with an open mind,” Smith said Monday after practice. “That’s why you meet someone. After you meet him, I’ll know everything I need to know about it then.”You know, the NFL did order an investigation, which ended with a scathing assessment of Incognito and Dolphins doings.I guess Lovie was in the basement watching film ...I think he should talk to Jonathan Martin after he talks to Richie Incognito.This is total panic. There’s no one else, on any continent, who could save this line?I would have paid the price for 49ers holdout Alex Boone before selling my franchise’s soul. “I would like to talk to him myself,” Smith said. “And if you know my history, I do believe in second chances. To me, no one should have a death sentence. If you should, you’re probably in jail. And from there, what does it hurt to talk to someone?”Bucs players have to be wondering about this, though you wouldn’t have known it Monday.“If there’s a problem, we’ll deal with it accordingly,” Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. “But as long as he’s doing what he’s supposed to do on the field, I’m not concerned about anything else.”Hey, isn’t that how it worked so well at the Dolphins?Smith said, “You guys know me well enough to know: You think I’m going to bring someone in here that you know is going to hurt what we have in our locker room? No. But I need to see that. I can’t go on hearsay.”There’s a lesson here, one we already knew. Every NFL coach, even a character guy like Lovie, is just a coach when there’s a gaping hole. They can convince themselves of anything.What do upstanding citizens matter when it’s about keeping Josh McCown off his back?By the way, Bucs linebacker Jonathan Casillas didn’t travel to the preseason game in Buffalo because of a violation of team rules.“This is a respectable organization,” Casillas said. “When somebody violates a rule or law or whatever, consequences will be dealt.”Fine words.There is nothing respectable about bringing in Richie Incognito.
